Closing Time: Buckeye Seniors Fall to Wisconsin in Columbus Finale

In the Big Ten this season, there’s Wisconsin and there’s everybody else. The Badgers proved that out on Sunday afternoon in Columbus. On Senior Day, the Ohio State Buckeyes started out frigid, and despite a brief second-half rally, were no match for the complete Wisconsin squad that still has its sights on a No. 1 seed for the NCAA tournament. Wisconsin took the regular season finale 72-48, and Thad Matta’s Buckeyes are truly limping into the conference tournament, a rare occurence.

I’ve been pretty hard on this Buckeye senior class, but on Senior Day, they only served to prove its worth. Down low, the duo of Amir Williams and Trey McDonald combined for only four points and eight rebounds in 26 minutes, meaning the Buckeyes played small for a good chunk of this game. That meant that 6-foot-4 Jae’Sean Tate and 6-foot-7 Sam Thompson had to take turns in the post against Wisconsin 7-footer Frank Kaminsky. While the Bucks did force Kaminsky to turn the ball over five times, he was smooth in the post with his 9-for-13 shooting for 20 points, avoiding the offensive fouls which Ohio State tried to draw. Strategically, Ohio State did the only thing that it felt it could to slow Kaminsky, putting their best defenders on him while giving up tremendous size and balancing that with help. Unfortunately for Ohio State, Wisconsin is more than just one big man. Guard Bronson Koenig chipped in 15 points of his own, while Sam Dekker added 10. Of course, the Badgers are still hoping to get back point guard Traevon Jackson from a broken foot later this month too.

Offensively, D’Angelo Russell did not have a good afternoon, but I would venture to say the burden he is carrying with this team right now is starting to take its toll. While it’s true that the sure-fire top-five pick was only 7-for-18 (1-of-7 from three) for his 17 points, matching his five assists with five turnovers, the only real help he got on that end of the floor was from fellow freshman Tate. Tate’s 13 points and six boards were a big part of what kept OSU afloat in the early going. His scrappy play down low is admirable given his size, but to be more than a garbage collector, he’s going to have to work on that short and mid-range shot.

Rather than the shortcomings of the two freshman that have made the scarlet and gray watchable for the last month, I’ll focus on the seniors again. Sam Thompson failed to make a single basket in this game, clanking seven of them as he collected his only two points at the line. Shannon Scott posted 10 points but did so on just 4-of-12 shooting. That means that in 92 minutes from the four seniors, Ohio State only got 16 points.

Then, there’s the ghost of Marc Loving. Since his three-game suspension, Loving has been a shell of his former self. Aloof on defense and a bystander on offense, Loving has only logged 19 points on 4-for-21 shooting in his six games since returning. This is coming from the second best player on the team prior to suspension, a double digit scorer in 16 games this season, none bigger than his 19-point showing in the banner win against Maryland on January 29th. I’m not sure why Loving was suspended. I’m also not sure why or how it has had a lasting effect on his desire to play hard and effectively for the Buckeyes. But, I do know that the former Mr. Basketball in Ohio is killing his team right now. This team as currently constructed is not good enough to get an absolute zero from what was its second best player prior to this event.

Despite all of that, Ohio State managed to go on an early second half run and cut the Wisconsin lead to just seven points with 12:59 remaining. Then, the Badgers rattled off a 16-0 run over the course of the next five and a half minutes as they systematically broke down Ohio State’s spirit. Every 50-50 call and every 50-50 ball, the Bucks seemed to lose out. Wisconsin tracked down several back-breaking offensive rebounds when they did miss a shot in that stretch. In a pitiful display of positioning and effort, the Buckeyes were nearly out-rebounded on their own defensive end, grabbing just 18 defensive boards compared to 13 offensive for Wisconsin. When a team is allowed to shoot 50% and grab 13 of its own misses, a steamrolling is guaranteed to ensue.

When OSU has the ball, there’s just not enough movement and looks that beat D’Angelo Russell isolation. The team scored just nine points in the first 10:15 of the game and nine points in the last 12:59 of the game, shooting 34% overall. The 48 points marked a season-low, passing the 55 against Louisville in December. OSU made just 3-of-15 three point shots, and they had just 22 points in the paint.

Looking ahead to this week in Chicago, I truly believe the Buckeyes can beat anyone not named Wisconsin that they come across when they’re playing well (which is certainly not a given at the moment). As it stands now, they’ll face the Minnesota-Rutgers winner on Thursday night in the last game of the evening. Should they win, they’ll get a rematch with the Michigan State Spartans who they lost a Valentine’s Day heartbreaker to in East Lansing just a few short weeks ago. After that, without an upset on the other quadrant, they’d get a rematch with Maryland, who they beat easily in Columbus. They would not face their toughest matchups during the season in Wisconsin or Iowa until Sunday afternoon in the Big Ten championship.

It may sound silly to think the Buckeyes have more than one or two games to worry about this weekend in Chicago, but they’re currently getting the second best odds to win the tournament, a distant second to Wisconsin. With 7/2 odds, it’s clear that Vegas is drawing on Thad Matta’s history of winning the conference tournament four times, tied with Michigan State for most, as well as making three more title game appearances.

The Buckeyes enter the Big Ten tourney with one star player, four seniors that can be characterized as “Not Ready for Primetime Players”, a sophomore scorer that has lost his mojo following his suspension, and a freshman scrapper that’s doing all he can to provide the star with some help. It’s not an ideal scenario, but if Matta can get this team’s mind right, they’ve shown potential to give teams trouble. They just have to stop beating themselves first.

(Photo: Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)